


The Run

by whoisthekingofnewyork



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fuckbuddies, Like one swear, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Mutual Pining, Realisation, Thiam, mentions of exhaustion, slight brett/liam, teen wolf fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 04:19:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15404817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoisthekingofnewyork/pseuds/whoisthekingofnewyork
Summary: Theo catches Liam out on his evening run.





	The Run

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on my tumblr @not-quite-shakespeare-yet

Liam was struggling to control his anger, struggling to adapt to his new life as a werewolf on full moons. He tried his best to control his anger, repeating the mantra, digging claws into his palms, the blood pooling in his fists as he attempts to hide it. He held the blood in his hand, wincing at the feeling, stopping the blood dripping onto the floor. He was surprised the pack never mentioned it, considering they could smell blood from a mile away. He was just trying to hide it from his parents downstairs, his parents that would never see him as he truly was. He kept secrets from them and he kept them well. All those nights helping Scott he was at sleepovers, or he snuck out of his bedroom window and ran to wherever he felt like going. He snuck out to go on dates, knowing his parents would pester him about who it was or how it went or who the ‘lucky girl was’. That was what enraged him the most. He kept secrets. His secrets made him angry. His anger made it hard for him to control himself. He couldn’t do it for much longer. That’s when he started his evening runs. He would go for a run every night, he ran to collect his thoughts. He thought about it all, how he would have to take control of things at school now that Scott had graduated, he had to be the captain. He was struggling. 

He often let his thoughts drift to his ‘dates’ with Brett. They didn’t do much except hang out at Brett’s house and end up fucking in his bed before going back to whatever they were doing before. They were fuckbuddies. No strings attached. They were fine with that, the two of them happy joking around during the day and then sneaking around to fill their desires at night. Nobody suspected anything, their actions seeming appropriate after how close the two became after the dead-pool. Liam often looked to Brett for advice on control, he would go to Brett during the full moon, often using their arrangement as a way to practice control throughout the rest of the month and it worked. He was controlling his changes better, but his anger was getting worse. The increased stress of being the team captain and constantly having some supernatural issue going on every other week built up inside him, leaving him on the edge of snapping at any moment. He had caught himself yelling at Mason about something stupid, immediately apologising to his best friend, calming down and stabbing his claws back into his palms. He lacked control over his anger, control that he desperately needed. 

Theo had that control. Theo had the control over everything that Liam craved to control. He could control his anger, his power, his emotions. Brett could only help with shifts, he didn’t even know where to start with Liam’s anger, he just hoped to calm him down through soft kisses. Theo was well aware of Liam’s issues, trying to help as much as he could only to get turned away by the boy. He tried to help as much as he could without getting so close to the boy that he would sprint in the other direction, as far away from him as he possibly could. Liam didn’t realise that Theo wasn’t manipulating him, he was only trying to take care of him. He struggled to grasp that literally going through hell can change a person.

Liam decided it was time to turn back when his legs started to ache. He had been running at top speed for at least an hour, his heart working twice as hard to keep the oxygen moving around his body at the necessary rate. He could feel his heart pounding, he could hear it effectively ringing in his ears and he didn’t want to know who else could. He took an earbud out of his ear and listened for any other sign of movement. At first, he couldn’t hear anything, he could only hear the soft breeze and his own heart playing out of time. Then he saw Theo rushing towards him from across the street, hearing the truck door slam as he ran. He didn’t know why he couldn’t hear Theo’s heartbeat if he was across the street the whole time. He was lost in thought about this until he felt Theo’s hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Theo questioned. “Your heart is going to town on you right now.” 

“I went on a run,” Liam replied blankly, refusing to meet the other’s eyes.

“Liam it’s 1 am. Why are you out on a run at 1 am? You normally go at 10.” The older boy continued his interrogation.

“It’s that late already?” Liam finally saw the concerned eyes of Theo, checking him over for wounds or anything that can indicate something wrong. “Why are you so concerned anyway?” 

“I care about you, Liam.” Theo sighed, biting his tongue on the words he wanted to say. “Let me drive you home, you’ve worn yourself thin.”

Liam was silent for a minute, debating the best route of action, was it better to wait it out and run home or accept the lift from Theo. The truth was he didn’t hate Theo. He just hated how easily Theo could control himself, how he could change for the better. He didn’t want to go through hell to do it so he was at a loss of what he could do to be a better person. He didn’t fight back as Theo guided him towards the truck, coming as a surprise to the two of them considering Liam’s normal resistance to being touched by Theo. The gentle arm around his shoulder acting in the form of comfort he had desired, the warmth that he had needed to soothe his stresses rather than just take his mind off of them. Liam only then realised how cold it was that night, regretting coming outside in just shorts and a shirt that was scarcely there. He would normally just ignore his shivers but he couldn’t with Theo bringing him closer with each one, trying to ensure that he was warm. The truck was warm compared to the cold winter night, Liam immediately slamming the door shut once he had gotten in as an attempt to warm himself up. Theo chuckled at Liam’s actions, a concerned yet genuine smile spreading across his features.

“There’s a blanket in the back seat,” Theo stated, turning the key in the ignition. 

Liam turned to pick it up, hesitating when he saw the state the back seat was in. It was like someone had slept there, it had all of Theo’s stuff. He didn’t realise that Theo had no family and therefore nowhere to stay. He had been living out of his truck. That only infuriated him more, he had the worst living conditions imaginable yet he was somehow a better person than ever. The guilt hit Liam with the speed of an alpha. He had been so rude to Theo when all he did was try to help, sure they were unconventional methods but he tried. 

“You’ve been living out of your truck?” Liam asked, finally wrapping the blanket over himself.

“Yeah,” Theo said sharply, gripping his steering wheel, cursing himself for not tidying his back seat before he rushed out to help Liam. “Since I came back from Hell.”

“I had no idea,” Liam mumbled. “You’re always so well put together, you look good every day.” 

“You think I look good?” Theo smirked, trying to change the subject while simultaneously trying to maintain a steady heartbeat. 

“Well, I mean…” Liam blushed, although most of it was hidden by the existing red from the cold. “You’ve always looked good, Hell didn’t do much to break your beauty.”

“I could say the same about you, Dunbar.” Theo chuckled at the moment of realisation that was showing on Liam’s face. 

Liam buried his face in the blanket, staying silent as the car began to move from the spot on the side of the road. He thought over what he had just said. He had complimented Theo. He said Theo had looked good in the most awkward way possible unintentionally. He scolded himself for being so bad at flirting then he realised. Flirting? He wasn’t flirting with Theo. Was he? He liked Theo. Liam curled up on his chair, unaware of Theo’s glances at him that were filled with adoration and concern. How had he not noticed the chemosignals before? Both parties willingly ignoring them as they convinced themselves that the other would never like them because they weren't good enough. Liam believed he was too volatile whereas Theo still felt the guilt in his chest every time he saw any of the pack. Neither of them could see how the other looked at them subconsciously during pack meetings. Liam thought that Theo only went to the lacrosse games to make sure he didn’t turn but that wasn’t the only reason, the other he realised in the car while bundled up in a blanket. 

“How are we both so blind?” Liam thought out loud.

“We aren’t, in fact, we have better sight than most humans,” Theo responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“That’s not what I meant.” Liam groaned. “How have we both been so blind of the fact that we like each other?”

Theo sighed, resting a hand on Liam’s thigh. “I don’t know.” 

Liam hardly acknowledged the touch before he subconsciously held his hand, interlocking their fingers. “Me neither.”

“You wouldn’t have asked the question if you knew the answer.”

“Stop being a smartass.” Liam groaned.

“Be nice to the person driving you home or they could force you to walk the rest of the way.” 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Theo sighed again, moving his hand from Liam so he could pull in the driveway of his house. They both sat in silence for a minute. Liam’s hand slowly moved to Theo’s thigh causing the latter to turn and look at him. He took a chance. Resting his free hand on the back of Theo’s neck, Liam placed his lips on Theo’s. It was hesitant and gentle until Theo responded to the kiss, resting his hand on the one on his thigh as he kissed back, giving Liam the confidence he needed. They pulled away after a minute, Liam retreating back to his seat while Theo sat in shock. Neither of them had expected to kiss each other at all, both happy to ignore their feelings until they moved on. 

Theo was first to break the silence. “That was unexpected but welcome.”

“You should learn to expect them,” Liam smirked, trying to flirt as well as he could but was cut short by Theo pecking his lips, making him blush.

“And so should you.” Theo smiled. “Are you going to go inside or should I shut off my engine so we can talk?”

“Shut it off.” Liam smirked, opening the car door. “And come inside.” 

Theo did as he was told, confused when Liam grabbed his bag of clothes out of the back of his truck. Liam was shocked at how compliant Theo was being, expecting an argument from the boy standing obediently next to him. Liam carefully took his hand and led him through the front door, not expecting his parents to still be awake so he can keep his secret. He sighed in relief when he saw all the lights off and a note on the kitchen counter giving instructions on food. He remembered his parents were away for the weekend as an anniversary gift. 

“Liam, what am I doing here?” Theo asked, watching Liam pull eggs from the fridge. 

“Sleeping in a proper bed and eating some proper food.” Liam stated. “Well as proper as I can make.”

Theo chuckled, hopping over his discarded bag to hug the short brunette in front of him. He buried his face in his neck, whispering a soft thank you into the latter’s ear in the process.


End file.
